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aspoonofsugar · 3 years

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The “One” Divided Into “Two”

Hello anons, hello friend,

these asks can be answered together!

First of all:

Hello! I just want to say that I love your RWBY metas! So I'm wondering, have you ever done metas about Emerald and Mercury?

Thank you! And yes, I have written a little bit about Mercury and Emerald here. I would also recommend this wonderful meta by @hamliet because it has an interesting Mercury theory in it.

Now. this answer is gonna mix some analysis with speculation because Emerald and Mercury’s story must still enter its climax. Once it does and we are given a specific interpretative key I will be happy to write more metas on them!

I’ll start with this:

Those two are so out of place in Salem's faction and the last look they share made me doubt that Mercury is rotten to the core and more of a kid who didnt know what he's in for. Since Em has switched sides, is it possible that Merc might follow? I really like him, so I'm hoping that he won't go down like Watts.

In my opinion, yes and here is why.

CHILDREN LOST IN A NARRATIVE

1) Emerald and Mercury have been child-coded since their first appearance:

Roman: Oh, look! She sent the kids again! This is turning out just like the divorce!

2) Both have received a save the cat moment early on:

Emerald: It's almost sad.

Mercury: Emerald, get up, we need to go. (...) Emerald!

Both child-coding and save the cat moments are often used to make characters more sympathetic and this applies to both Emerald and Mercury, even more so than Cinder.

This is why, for example, the major death they are directly involved in:

turns out to be a temporary one.

As a side note, I like thinking of Emerald and Mercury as the Cat and the Fox in Penny’s story since they act as false friends to the main cast, betray them and cause Penny’s first death. Moreover, in the novel, both characters end up suffering consequences for their life-styles. The two murder kids are the same:

At the same time, details about Emerald and Mercury’s backgrounds and motivations are given to the viewers pretty early on:

We are shown Cinder recruiting both and these scenes clearly paint them as two vulnerable kids that get manipulated and groomed:

Raven: Two children you’ve tricked into following you.

Emerald is presented as a scaredy cat and Cinder wins her over by promising the bare minumum aka some security and basic care.

Mercury is given even less aka a narrative to keep himself together:

Cinder: And you're his son. We saw your fight from the treeline. He's taught you well.

Mercury: Guess so.

Cinder: What's your name?

Mercury: Mercury.

Cinder: Mercury... Tell me, are you anything like your father?

Mercury: All my life, my father trained me to be a killer, an assassin like him. And then moments after I killed him, you two showed up looking for someone with my exact skills. Just felt like it was meant to be.

Cinder praises his abilities and frames his trauma as something that makes him strong, not broken. And Mercury has completely embraced this narrative since then.

In short, Emerald and Mercury are framed as two kids lost in an illusory narrative Cinder has crafted. That said, they are also characters in a proper narrative and they are given sympathetic backgrounds and positive qualities that hint they can be better than they currently are.

In particular, Emerald should overcome her emotional dependence on others to make the right thing:

In both volume 3 and volume 8 she is shown the destruction of a city. However, the first time she puts distance between herself and others’ pain, as symbolically conveyed by her looking from above. In volume 8, though, she is shown the same pain up close and she can’t ignore it anymore. This is why the others drag Emerald towards the people crying and light invades the screen when she finally meets the sheltered crew. She is forced to face an uncomfortable truth she wants to ignore.

Mercury should instead let himself depend on others more. He should open up to others and fight for his one positive bond:

Mercury: Back off, freak.

Which leads us to:

What do you like most about Emerald and Mercury's relationship and bond as it is explored in RWBY?

EMERCURY: COMPLEMENTARITY

Emerald and Mercury’s bond being a key one is conveyed both symbolically and in terms of their respective abilities.

When it comes to their abilities, I have written about it in the meta linked above:

In short, Emerald mostly relies on her semblance, while Mercury mostly relies on his legs and fighting prowess.

This detail adds to the idea that Emerald and Mercury have been acting as a unit and have been complementing each other. Emerald acts as the “soul” and Mercury as the “body”.

The soul is one’s personal essence (like the semblance). It is where (once again) wishes reside. The body is what protects the soul and is animated by instincts and self-survival.

They complement each other. This complementarity is shown in Emerald and Mercury’s fights.

In the Vytal festival, Mercury takes on both Coco and Yatsuhashi for a short while, so that Emerald can size her chance to fight Coco at her own terms (and she wins by using her semblance).

In the Battle of Heaven, Emerald uses her semblance to help Mercury fight and, in a sense, she compensates for his lack of one:

The human soul is about wishes, but also duties:

Penny: I feel like I wish I could do both the things I need to do and the things I want to do. Is that normal?

One must accept their feelings, but also struggle with them:

Winter: But yes Penny, we must still acknowledge our personal feelings, wrestle with them. It ensures us that we’re on the right path. It’s what makes us human.

And must do the right thing out of their own free will:

Winter: Penny. The general is making hard choices so we don’t have to.

This is Emerald’s personal struggle. She must let go of her feelings for Cinder and fight her own fear in order to do the right thing.

The human body lets people feel both others’ warmth:

And others’ cruelty:

However, Mercury refuses to feel both. He refuses to truly process his own trauma and pushes his feelings of care for Emerald away:

As far as their symbolism goes, they are linked in at least three different ways.

1) One of the attributes of the Roman god Mercury is that he is the protector of thieves and Emerald’s surname capitalized means thief. What is more:

Mercury: Ooh, Emerald! Master thief! Please don't take my money! I barely have enough to get by!

2) Mercury/Hermes is also the god of alchemy and the one who wrote the Emerald Tablet aka a tablet with the truth of alchemy on it. You, @hamliet, have written a meta on it, so I won’t add more.

3) According to at least some traditions, emerald is the gemstone associated with the planet Mercury.

So, it is clear the two characters are meant to be important in each other’s arcs.

Let’s now look at Emerald and Mercury’s bond, as it is explored through their interactions.

Mercury clearly cares about Emerald and gets along well with her. She is the only person he shows vulnerability to.

This is what their scene in Lost is about:

Emerald: Why did you come with us, the night Cinder and I found you?

Mercury: Why are you asking--

Emerald: Just answer the question.

Emerald is trying to open herself up and wants Mercury to open up too. This is why she gets annoyed when Mercury gives her a superficial answer. Still, in that conversation, Mercury is genuinelly trying to answer Emerald’s feelings:

Mercury: I'm sorry you didn't have a mommy that loved you, but I had a father who hated me! He never went easy on me! Every day of training was a beating. And when I unlocked my Semblance, he stole it with his! "This is a crutch!" "This makes you weak!" He told me I could have it back when I was strong. So I got strong, but I never got it back! I've had to work harder than anyone to get where I am. You may not like it here without Cinder, but I think I'm right where I'm supposed to be!

Here, Mercury is telling Emerald details of his past he would not be sharing if he did not trust her. He can’t let himself be completely vulnerable, though, so he discloses them by lashing out at Emerald. He mixes violence with authentic vulnerability and also with care:

Mercury: Cinder doesn't care about you! She doesn't care about either of us!

He has seen how self-destructive Emerald can get when it comes to Cinder:

And he is trying to have Emerald move on from her obsession.

However, Mercury’s small steps towards opening up and caring for another person are constantly challenged:

Tyrian: Oh yes, the world is mean, and I'm a big, bad man now just like the others.

Mercury: How long have you been standing there?!

The moment he opens up to Emerald, Tyrian appears to threathen and mock him.

Mercury’s positive development lies in accepting his own feelings of pain and in sharing them with others, so that he can be helped. However, the environment he is in goes in the way of it:

Emerald: Mercury, I wanted to...

Here, Emerald is trying to either apologize to Mercury for their fight or to at least check out on him. Still, Mercury is not listening to her because he is too frightened by what Salem is doing.

Mercury’s current struggle is conveyed in a nutshell by the glance he gives to his left in Midnight:

Is he looking at Emerald out of concern?

Or at Salem out of caution?

It is not clear. Still, what is sure is that Mercury should focus on Emerald, but Salem goes in the way. He deep down wants to care about others, but he is too scared to do so:

Tyrian: All you ever learned was pain and violence, and now you're too afraid to leave it. Such a tragedy.

At the same time, Mercury is for Emerald what she has been looking for in Cinder:

Emerald: We don't need him! Everything was going fine!

She initially refuses him, but it is clear that with time Mercury becomes the thing most similar to a family Emerald has:

She has been so fixated on Cinder and on how she can be worthy of Cinder’s love that she has missed how much Mercury has tried to protect her all along.

This is why Hazel is important for Emerald’s development:

Hazel: No more Gretchens, boy.

His sacrifice is about breaking his personal cycle of pain. His story starts with Gretchen dying when she was only a girl and it ends with him preventing another girl’s death. At the same time, he also helps breaking the cyle of abuse between Emerald and Cinder.

Emerald is told the truth about her relationship with Cinder by Mercury. Moreover, it seems something finally clicks for her here:

She observes Salem’s manipulation of Cinder and understands Cinder has been manipulating her in the same way.

However, it is thanks to Hazel’s sacrifice that Emerald sees what a genuine parental bond should be like. It should be about the parent protecting the child:

Hazel: What Gretchen would have done. And that starts with getting you away from here. Both of you.

And not the child protecting the parent:

Emerald: I know I can’t beat you. But I can fill that thing full of holes before you take me down.

It should be about the parent caring for the child unconditionally:

Hazel: Go.

And not about the child working hard to gain a parent’s love:

Cinder: You… You brought me back here. We failed.

Emerald: Cinder, you were hurt. I was just trying to help.

At the same time, Hazel’s death has taught Emerald the pain of losing a loved one:

And has forced Emerald to stand on her own two legs:

Oscar: I've seen what you can do, Emerald. However this fight ends, we could really use someone like you.

She can’t be protected forever, but she should start protecting others. She is powerful enough to do so and she must accept this responsibility.

I think Emerald could be key to Mercury's redemption

I think so too. Emerald saving Mercury is the perfect objective for her personal arc. It forces her to act as the savior instead of the one being saved.

Moreover, Mercury told her the truth about herself:

Mercury: You're in denial.

So Emerald might do the same for Mercury. This would also fit with her being the Emerald Tablet. The Tablet is written by Mercury to convey the truth to the world. Here, it might very well be the inverse: the Emerald Tablet might convey the truth to Mercury.

In general, Mercury and Tyrian’s foiling has to pay off, just like Emerald and Hazel’s:

The set-up is there for Tyrian and Mercury’s subplot to be about breaking cycles as well. Mercury’s story is about a child left alone with his abuser. Nobody comes to save him, so Mercury is forced to save himself by killing Marcus. Still, this only leads to him being stuck in the idea he is nothing, but an extension of his father. Right now, the cycle is repeating, but it is possible this time things will go differently because there is at least one person who cares about him.

Not only that, but (and this is nothing, but a baseless theory) even Qrow (aka a character who has unfinished business with Tyrian) might be a thematic fit to help Mercury:

Mercury: Bad hair, used a scythe, and smelled like my dad after a long day. It was him.

After all, Mercury himself draws a comparison between Qrow and his father since they are both alcoholic. However, Qrow has started a journey of rehabilitation for the sake of his nieces and their friends.

Qrow sees himself as bad for others and fundamentally unlucky because of his background and his semblance. So, his third fight with Tyrian being about saving a kid, who, in a sense, is even less lucky than him and has no semblance might be thematically fitting.

Despite it all, Qrow found a family and a place to belong and he might help Mercury find his (Emerald) as well.

SEMBLANCE OF THE SELF

Got no gun But I gleam like a blade and I'm harder than iron

Delusion I'll steal til your blind and defeat you from inside your mind

Emerald’s best weapon is her semblance, while Mercury’s semblance was stolen, so he could become a weapon.

This difference symbolizes their respective reactions to abuse.

Emerald uses her illusions as a coping mechanism.

This mechanism is well conveyed in CEM’s fight against Amber:

On one hand, Emerald creates a child version of herself who is well dressed and owns a bike. It is a rich version of Emerald because she must think that is the kind of child others would stop by to help. She does not believe she is likable or lovable. This is why she makes an illusory alter-ego, which is both true (she deep down is a crying child) and false (she is a street rat with nothing).

In general, this is Emerald’s way to approach others:

Emerald: Just left the stadium after your amazing fight! You guys were awesome!

Ren: Because she's scared. Just like us..

Emerald: Or maybe because I know how to get out of here. Anybody coming?

She either fakes an overly friendly demeanor or acts tougher than she is. In any case, she hides her true self.

On the other hand, Emerald is symbolically trapping herself in an illusion together with Amber. Amber can’t see the dangerous thief in front of her, but Emerald too can’t see the generous woman who is offering food to a crying child:

Cinder: Follow me, and you’ll never be hungry again.

Cinder promises Emerald food and love and this lie makes the girl unable to see the genuine article when it is right there.

So Emerald tricks both others and herself. This is how she survives abuse.

This is why she keeps believing in Cinder while she is gone:

Emerald: You’re here! I knew you’d co--

And this is why symbolically her semblance grows stronger in an abusive environment:

Emerald: I’ve been working on my Semblance. I can help. I won’t tell anybody.

Salem: You really have been honing that Semblance of yours.

After all, this is when Emerald gets a “power-up”:

She has just lost Cinder and finds herself stuck with Salem. Her reaction is to have a breakdown and to project an illusion in the minds of nine people, when she had previously stated she could only do one/two minds at most.

Mercury weaponizes his trauma.

This is why his legs are Mercury’s true weapon, while Talaria is there just to cover and embellish the pain and ugliness under it.

Mercury fights Amber with only its bare legs because symbolically his trauma is still fresh and he has yet to work out a structured coping mechanism to it. His meeting with Cinder is the first step in this construction that evolves in the following months and is still evolving:

In CEM’s fight against Amber, Mercury uses his unfeeling legs to whitstand the violence of the elements:

Fire

Earth and Water

Air

He goes through the whole cycle without feeling any pain simply because his trauma has made him unfeeling:

I'm the one That was ripped from the earth and exposed to the sun

Marcus has literally turned Mercury into Iron:

But I gleam like a blade and I'm harder than iron

Still, the point is that mercury as a metal is not as hard as iron, but (in the alchemical scale of metals) is way more refined and closer to gold. Mercury can be better than his father, but his way to survive abuse is to repress himself.

This is why his semblance was stolen by his abuser. It is because abuse has taken away Mercury’s personhood.

So, both Emerald and Mercury face abuse by masking or repressing themselves. The difference is a matter of degree. Mercury can suppress his emotions and needs more, while Emerald can’t.

Theirs is a foiling about feeling too much to the point of self-harm and of feeling too little to the point of negation.

So, Emerald must struggle with her feelings not to be controlled by them, while Mercury must aknowledge them.

Emerald’s Hallucinations is a Semblance of The Self because it hides both Emerald herself and the truth.

This is interesting because, as stated above, the Emerald Tablet should convey the truth about alchemy. However, Emerald’s environment has turned her into an inversion of herself:

I'm the one Who rose out of filth and was loved by no-one

She is a gemstone, but is currently covered in dirt. She needs to polish herself, so she can shine and fit better in her allusion.

Mercury’s stolen semblance is a Semblance of The Self because it is linked to Mercury’s self-expression, which he must claim back.

Until then, he is bound to be stuck in an abusive cycle as nothing, but a weapon.

In general, there is some symbolism around Mercury which needs unpacking:

Mercury quoting Marcus:"This is a crutch!" "This makes you weak!"

Firstly, he has clearly interiorized what his father told him here. He refuses the idea of weakness and crutches to the point that his prosthetics, which are literal crutches get turned into weapons and even covered by other weapons. However, this refusal of crutches means Mercury can’t heal. After all, crutches, bandages and treatment are necessary to become healthy once again.

Secondly, there is this:

I'll run circles round ya, I can touch the sky

The God Mercury’s main attribute is that he can overcome any boundary. He can go wherever he wants in no time. However, Mercury is the opposite because no matter what, he can’t leave his abusive environment. This has to do once again with his father’s abuse which culminated with Marcus taking Mercury’s legs. This is symbolically why Mercury is trapped.

Like for Emerald, Mercury’s arc should be about growing into his allusion, so that he can finally be free.

Still, how to turn Emerald and Mercury in the positive versions of their allusions? The answer has to do with this question:

(I think Emerald could be key to) maybe Cinder's (redemption) too

I’M THE ONE

Emerald and Mercury are two parts of the individual (body and soul) and two parts of a Huntsman (semblance and weapon):

Ren: A common philosophy is that a warrior's Semblance is a part of who they are.

Ruby: Just weapons? They're an extension of ourselves! They're a part of us! Oh, they're so cool.

Together they make a unit. Together they make Cinder. They are two sides of her trauma, her two sins:

Emerald: Actually, I was wondering, do you have any copies of "The Thief and The Butcher"?

And the wounds behind those sins.

This is why Cinder takes them in, but also why she abuses them.

She uses them as weapons:

In CEM’s fight against Amber she lets them go in first and has them take the majority of Amber’s hits.

Not only that, but she uses them as “red herrings” she hides behind.

She acts as if Amber’s blow takes her out of the fight, while Amber focuses on Mercury who resists her attack:

She has Emerald display her semblance at full force, so that the girl becomes Amber’s first target:

She makes her own illusion where Emerald and Mercury are her smokescreen.

However, her two disciples are not just things she can use as she pleases. They are two people who depend on her:

Mercury: You mean--

Emerald: She's alive?

They are literally two kids she takes in framing their relationship as parental/hierarchical hence she is responsible for them.

However, she fails them and leaves them in a dangerous environment. This is why they both leave her out of self-survival.

Narratively, Emerald and Mercury are two kids that must grow up. Right now, they are in some kind of adolescent phase. They have started their emancipation from their “parent”, but they have still to grow until they’ll be able to truly face Cinder.

It will probably be in this confrontation that they will affirm their growth. Right now, Cinder does not need to be coddled, but to be called out. Both Neo and Watts try to, but Cinder ignores them and retaliates against them. She needs a call out she can’t ignore and Emerald and Mercury are too rooted in who she deep down is for her to be unaffected by them.

At the same time, it would mark Mercury and Emerald’s first step into adulthood. Only then they can stop being a “half” and can truly become “one”, so a whole person.

#rwby #rwby meta #emercury #emerald sustrai #mercury black #cinder fall #my meta #asksfullofsugar #anonymous #hamliet #murder kids #rwby murder kids

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arethereanyoriginalusernames · 4 years

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10 of my favorite songs rn

Requested by @manifold-superstorm

While I basically listen to whatever I feel like listening to (which can be from any genre), I tried to include as many songs as I could that I thought fit manifold's style.

These aren't in any particular order, so... apart from what ones I think of first to last.

Let's go.

10. "Soul 4 Sale" and "Joystick" by Simon Curtis

So let's start with two guilty pleasures of mine. I usually am not a fan of songs that are just... "Sex! Sex! Sex!", but hear me out. Imagine one of those songs... except the song is catchy, and IT'S FULL OF PUNS. Joystick is especially terrible in this regard. And regarding Soul 4 Sale, I don't know why, but the faster Curtis sings, the more I enjoy the song. I would probably recommend looking at "Diablo", and "Beat Drop". Not "Flesh" or "Psycho love" because fuck it, they're overrated.

9. Pleather for Breakfast from No more heroes

While the entire soundtrack for NMH slaps, Bad Girl's theme is weird in all the best ways. If you want a song that sums up a character perfectly, here you go! Demented whispers in the background, the fact that it musically sounds like something drunk girls would jam to, it's perfect. And yes, I've requested this before, but NMH's soundtrack is, imo, really that good.

8. Soundtrack to Killer Instinct

Same with the previous entry, I've mentioned KI's soundtrack before, but it is actually that good. You'd think that it'd be hard to come up with songs that are unique for every character, and have almost all of them be great. Except wait!!!! Welcome to the killer Instinct soundtrack, where electronic is mixed with everything from rock solos to korean throat singing. While Cinder's theme, "Inferno", is iconic, I would also recommend ".execute", "Warlord", "temperance and vengeance " and "Touch me and I'll break your face"

7. "Madwoman in the attic" by Black Briar

I love a lot of this band's songs, and they recently dropped a new album. My favorite of the newer songs is the aforementioned "Madwoman in the attic ". The singer has a beautifully distinctive voice, and the lyrical work here is amazing. Which is kind of interesting. Seriously, compare this Dutch band's lyrics to the average song you get from, idk, America. The fact that they're use of the English language is more advanced is somewhat concerning.

6. "Lantern in the night" by Rachel Rose Mitchell

I could list this woman's entire work here, but since I've already done something like that with Killer Instinct, here we are. I just think this song is really pretty. Yeah. And, as per usual with Mitchell, she uses elements of Fantasy to convey stories of real issues people deal with. Check her out!

5. "Artemis " by Lindsey Stirling

Ok, to prevent myself from fully geeking out over Lindsey Stirling, I'll just leave the description as this. This is actually a well fitting song for the goddess of the moon. Powerful, and yet serene. And, of course, Lindsey's violin work just makes this piece that much more amazing. If you or anyone else believes that violins can't be used in dubstep, think again. And yes, the opening does lowkey sound like star wars, but I'm sorry, am I supposed to see that as a negative?

4. Overkill by Riot ver. Nuke time.

So, I don't play Beat Saber, but I enjoy watching other people play it. And watching these types of videos on YouTube was what introduced me to this song. This is honestly a song that I just have fun listening to. Especially at the end, where I swear it's like someone gave the song 50 shots of pure espresso. Like, that weird, primal scream before the beat drops on more time? Great. The eery robot lady voice? Perfect. I feel like I'm stuck in the middle of an all out paintball gun war, and I'm strangely ok with that.

3. Honey I'm Home by Ghost

Well, I'm going to have to turn in my cool kid card, because yes, I even listen to vocaloid songs. Specifically covers tho, because I personally can't stand how the vocaloids sound. I would reccomend the cover of this song done by UmbraticForest on YouTube. Anyway, I love the majority of Ghost's songs, and this one is one of their best, imo. Containing themes of religion, drug abuse, mental illness, etc, it can get dark. But, like with all of the artist's songs, there's a point to it. The song tells an intriguing story, and is absolutely worth your time. It also doesn't hurt that the song slaps.

2. We like to party (the vengabus) by the vengabus

Fight me.

Ok, but you know what? Sometimes... sometimes you need something mindless and happy. Sometimes, you need to smile. And with this? Let's see... catchy tune, potential for memes, cheery lyrics.... yeah, I can vibe to this. So, if you like to party, get on and move your body.

DO IT

....

Ok, so I hope you all understand that being the ambiguously supernatural creature that I am, I am obligated to include this song somewhere.

Number 1 is the Spooky Scary Skeletons remix by the Living Tombstone.

How do you turn a simple little tune into a banger? Like this, apparently! And I don't care how long it is until Halloween, Janet, you can listen to this song all year long. I don't need to explain how amazing this song is, right? I do? Well.... no. I am clearly unworthy of describing the pure joy this song gives. And if that wasn't enough, let me put this out there.

Have you ever considered,

Memes? :)

That's my list of 10 song I'm currently listening to. Manifold, I don't know if you'll enjoy any of these. Hell, it may have cost any respect you had for me. I still hope you enjoyed nonetheless, and the artwork will be coming soon! In the meantime, feel free to tell me what you think.

I apologize for wasting your time,

Spooky S Skeletons

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aftermathdb · 6 years

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Death Battle Review: Raven vs. Twilight Sparkle.

Season 5, Episode 2 (or Battle 89) is starting off with a battle between two characters with mystical abilities, powerful empaths, warriors who originally rejected friendship but eventually found out that it was the key to defeating evil, and Tara Strong voicing them in their respective animated series.

As per usual, spoilers under the cut.

So… Tara Strong vs. Tara Strong, I guess. I honestly was not expecting this. I was expecting something more like… Mortal Kombat’s Blaze vs. Killer Instinct’s Cinder. Regardless, this is a bound to be a strong matchup… Sorry about that.

Elephant in the room that I feel needs to be addressed. Yeah… Twilight Sparkle. Given how… divisive Starscream vs. Rainbow Dash was, and how… zany Deadpool vs. Pinkie Pie was, I can understand the concerns. MLP has yet to suffer a loss, and given how weirdly they seem to treat the show, it can be understood that this isn’t something to be overly excited about. But I don’t understand why people are groaning “Another Pony episode?” - Because only Rainbow Dash and Pinkie have entered the fray. And now that I think about it, there’s never been two pony fights twice in a row in a season. By which I mean there’s never been two seasons in a row that feature a pony fight.

With those out of the way, let’s move on to the review.

Raven’s Preview.

Overall, the math presented here is very impressive. And by utilizing the various form of media that Raven has been present in, the best stats are used. In addition, the pop-up information cards makes their comeback. Quick shoutout to Gerardo (the editor of this particular episode) for making math look cool. It’s kinda hard to make something as mundane as math look interesting, so by using the various graphics, it made me excited to learn about the force that these characters can output.

Going over Raven’s backstory is actually pretty daunting. And the little “Take That” towards the constant retcons is actually a pretty good one. Because seriously! - These writers need to work with what they have.

The fact that there was barely any reference towards TTG seems like a good call here. That show is very polarizing, and I think that it’s a smart call not to open up any old wounds. The only reference being used as a quick joke.

The math seems fairly solid, and the various small jokes do work to the advantage. For example, the line of “As the crow - or the raven in this case,” is a little thing that works exceptionally well. It’s the little details that make the episode shine.

While I would have rather used that badass speech that Raven had for dear old dad in the original Teen Titans cartoon, the line that they used here is actually pretty impressive.

Twilight Sparkle’s preview.

The elephant in the room is tackled immediately here. Overall, instead of dreading the preview, the jokes and math that are used are pretty interesting.

Going over her backstory proves that there’s a lot more to her than meets the eye.

You can even really go nuts trying to comprehend the crazy spells that Twilight has. From the gravity thing, to the “apple to egg” thing. The commentary points out that she’s got a myriad of spells that could have won the fight.

Actually, the bit about math is a bit misleading. Outside of the mystical shield durability, speed, and telekinetic lift, there’s not really much to work with. The focus seems to be more on the mystical abilities rather than the physical prowess. Appropriate, considering that Twilight doesn’t have a whole lot of physical feats of note to work with from what I recall.

Cheesy end line, but considering the source material… appropriate enough.

The Battle itself.

Similar to how both characters’ most recognized roles are both by Tara Strong, both characters in the fight will be voiced by Kira “Rinachan” Buckland. Animation is being done by Luis Cruz, animator of such impressive battles as Shredder vs. Silver Samurai, Metal Sonic vs. Zero, and Zoro vs. Erza. Music is done by Brandon Yates, and is called Titans of Magic. Sprites are done by Chris Bastin, and the background is made by the talented BonesWolbach from deviantart. And finally, the audio is done by three separate people.

Thanks to our rather talented voice actress, we can actually get a story reason as to why the fight starts, and it’s… weird. Like, I thought that the reason for Yang starting the fight with Tifa was petty, but this just takes it to a whole ‘nother level.

The animation does do a good job of showcasing the mystical destructive capabilities that both combatants have. Though, it feels like it’s a bit lowballed in the beginning.

But then the fight is taken to the field, and we get to see a lot more of the destructive force that can be doled out by these two. And the mystical prowess is actually pretty interesting and astounding. You can see the struggle between versatility and sheer power going head to head.

Then the finishing blow happens.

OH! Before I get into that, you will WANT to have already seen the episode beforehand. Because spoilers comes in 5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Raven’s soul self annihilates Twilight by ramming her at Mach 36! Yeah, a pony lost. Go figure, huh?

Verdict + Explanation.

Clearly, they think that Luna is the best princess… And before you ask, no. I actually typed that out before watching the commentary. Though, it is making me crave a Luna vs… whatever fight. Moons are awesome.

Joking aside, they have a quick card explaining that the number of “Instant-Win” abilities that they had were equal. That’s something I appreciate. I’m not a fan of “Instant-Win” buttons. It just feels… wrong to pull them out to justify a win for a single character.

Overall, it’s apparent that Twilight is outmatched in several ways. She often relies on her friends to get the job done, and it’s obvious that her durability isn’t that strong to endure any killing blow from Raven.

And we also get a look in how DC just basically tosses physics out the window for the sake of “Rule of Cool.” Going over each of their stats, the only real edge that Twilight had was mystical versatility. And that alone isn’t enough to win the day if Mega Man’s fight with Astro Boy is to be believed.

And when they lowball statistics like how they’re doing with Raven’s soul-self, you know that the lowest possible stat far exceeds the opponent. The same applies when highballing a stat (Examples include Batman Beyond vs. Spider-Man 2099 and Naruto vs. Ichigo). When they go for the lowest possible stat that can be calculated for a certain character, it’s a good sign that that character basically stomps. And when doing the opposite, it’s clear that the other character doesn’t stand a chance.

Overall impression.

A very nice 8.3/10. While the verdict and the fight are really great, a lot of jokes can easily fly over someone’s head. Plus, I don’t want to incur any fan’s wrath by giving this a higher score. Maybe in the future, I can give it a higher one, but not today. Not now. The fight is spectacular though, and it’s hard to say that this is a bad fight, but it’s simply one that is not expected to be this good. That expectation is certainly a good one. The fight is fun. But I also feel as if Raven transporting the fight to her own little dimension could have been utilized in the battle. Regardless, the fight is a good one.

Major kudos for making Raven’s soul-self from scratch. Custom sprites are always a major plus, and it’s always fun to see how they mesh with the environment/characters. And when it’s a well-made sprite? - That’s when it becomes spectacular.

I want to also take the time here in the impression section to comment on the meshing of vector art and sprite art. The custom animations are great, and the aesthetics are great. Kudos to Luis, that is some pretty great animation techniques. It certainly shows why he’s one of the best sprite animators that the show has. Sprite battles like these are ones that make a lot of fights look spectacular, and it can even have visuals on par with some 3D animations as well.

Next time…

Well, they did say on the podcast that the next combatants were going to be ones who haven’t appeared before… I just wasn’t expecting this. It’s another Anime vs. Anime fight, and I’d say that’s… interesting. I don’t know a whole lot about these characters, so I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do.

Is there a fight that you want me to review? - Send an ask/request, and I’ll look into it!

Do you want to read my fanfic based around DEATH BATTLE itself? click here!

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you next time for…

Uh… I don’t have a clever name or quip for this one.

#deathbattle #Death Battle #screwattack #review

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